A new study carried out by
Escentual.com
has revealed that by the time we reach 40, a French woman looks some seven years younger than her British equivalent. 89 per cent of women, all British, asked in the survey agreed that French women aged more gracefully.

Beauty retailers Escentual.com say it is not just the early uptake of anti-ageing cream of our Gallic neighbours, but the much larger sum of money a French woman is prepared to pay for good skin.

In France, a girl will start using anti-ageing cream as early as age 15. In the UK we wait till we're 25 to get to grips with serums and anti-ageing weaponry; long after the damage has already been done some may say. And even then, only half of us will keep up the good work.

On top of that, in France women will spend twice as much on skincare than us - figures for skincare sales comes in at a staggering £1.9 billion every year as a nation, more than anywhere else in the world, compared to just £854 million by us in the UK.